Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Butler

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Butler

Butler’s post office opened in 1852, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Butler was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 46 buildings.

1852first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Butler began

When was Butler founded?

1852

The Butler post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,881174 years

How historic is Butler?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Butler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Butler’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Butler is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Butler’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.1% of homes (±4.9) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 48 historic buildings, 248 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Butler’s 248 sits above most of its state (82% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 48 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Butler’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Butler are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Butler Downtown Historic district takes in 46 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Butler’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Butler’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 48 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
48
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Taylor County Courthouse
Taylor County CourthouseButler Downtown Historic district
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival2
Colonial Revival2
Neo-Classical Revival1
Commercial1
Art Moderne1
Art Deco1
Taylor County CourthouseClassical Revival
Butler Downtown Historic districtColonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Butler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Butler.

Read it all →

The Central of Georgia Railway was built through the present area of Butler about 1850. The line is currently owned by Norfolk Southern and hosts three to four trains per day.

Butler was incorporated on February 8, 1854, but the charter was not received until 1870. Taylor County was carved from the Creek Indian territory which had in earlier years become the counties of Marion, Talbot, and Macon.

The chosen location of Butler was known as the "Fifty Mile Station" on the railroad because it was the geographical center of the railroad between Macon and Columbus, Georgia. Each town is approximately 50 miles (80 km) in either direction of Butler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Butler, 1852 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Butler post office opens
  3. 1882Born hereCharlton Greenwood Ogburn is born here
  4. 1886Born hereWilliam Fielding Ogburn is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1970Born herePatty Bentley is born here
By decade

Butler, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Taylor County, GA Sheriff's Office2012Taylor County, GA Sheriff's OfficeTaylor County, GA School District2012Taylor County, GA School DistrictTaylor County, GA Government Complex2012Taylor County, GA Government ComplexButler, GA2012Butler, GAButler, GA Post Office (31006)2012Butler, GA Post Office (31006)GAMap-doton-Butler2005GAMap-doton-Butler
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Butler

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
W
William Fielding OgburnAmerican sociologist · b. 1886
Patty BentleyAmerican politician from Georgia · b. 1970
Charlton Greenwood OgburnAmerican lawyer · b. 1882
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Butler’s post office has been open since 1852.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Butler
Butler ChurchButler MemorialWest End

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Butler’s history

What year was Butler founded?

The Butler post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Butler rank for history?

Butler is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Butler?

Two places: the Taylor County Courthouse (listed 1995) and the Butler Downtown Historic district (2005).

How old are the homes in Butler?

6% of Butler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1973.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.